The use of prefabricated building block components, such as wall modules having voids therein which are filled with concrete during the construction process, is well known in the art as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,782,049 and 4,098,042. Prior art wall modules, such as those disclosed in the patents mentioned above, comprise a pair of spaced wall panels forming the inner and outer wall surfaces of the completed structure which have sandwiched therebetween a plurality of concrete forms in the nature of vertical tubes. The wall panels provide the module with a minimal degree of rigidity until the tubes are later filled with concrete.
These prior art wall modules are provided with an upper horizontally extending channel which is aligned with the channel of adjacent modules and forms a continuous concrete beam when concrete is poured therein when the wall is erected. In constructing a building using prior art modules, individual wall modules were first erected in place on a supporting surface and mechanically interconnected with each other. After steel reinforcement rods were inserted into the tubes, concrete was poured into the tubes and into a lower part of the channel portion of the modules up to the underside of a floor section which was later installed after the initial pour of concrete had cured. The initial pour formed a continuous concrete beam of partial height in the channel along the upper edge of the wall. It was then necessary to allow the first pour of concrete in the wall module to substantially cure in order to provide the modules with substantial structural strength, since the modules were otherwise too weak to support the loading imposed thereon by the floor thereabove.
After the concrete in the module had cured, a floor section was mounted on an upper edge of each wall module and additional reinforcement rods were inserted in the space between the floor section and the channel of the wall modules. Finally, a second pour of concrete was introduced into the space between the floor section and the channel of the wall modules to complete interconnection of the wall with the floor section. From the foregoing, it can be appreciated that two separate pours of concrete were required in erecting each wall and floor, with a substantial period of delay being necessary between each pour to allow the concrete to cure sufficiently to provide the necessary structural strength demanded by subsequent construction phases. Consequently, the use of prior art wall modules was responsible for introducing a substantial construction delay, and was therefore somewhat undesirable in terms of construction economy.
Another problem related to the previous wall modules and construction technique involved the fact that an essentially "cold" joint was formed between the floor section and the walls; this was because separate pours of concrete were required to form the various structure components comprising the connection between the floor and wall. These cold joints naturally reduced the strength and overall structural integrity of the resulting building. The prior art construction technique and wall module also necessitated the use of scaffolding and the like in order to gain access to the concrete receiving openings in the wall modules along the upper edge thereof, since a floor was not present, prior to filling the modules with concrete, upon which construction workers might be supported in a position to have the necessary access to the interior of the modules.
A further problem related to a prior art approach relates to the fact that each pour of concrete often times required the use of heat applied thereto to aid in curing of the concrete during cold weather. Heretofore, it was necessary to direct a plurality of space heaters or the like against the module walls in order to warm the freshly poured concrete. However, since the floor above the wall being cured had not yet been installed, the area bounded by the walls was open to the environment and the majority of the heat directed onto the walls escaped into the surrounding cold environment. This not only resulted in incomplete or inconsistent curing of the concrete in the modules and increased the overall curing time, but resulted in a considerable waste of energy required to generate the heat.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a wall module for use in constructing reinforced concrete structures which not only includes voids therein adapted to receive concrete therein but which is capable of supporting the load imposed thereon by a floor mounted thereabove before concrete is introduced into the module.
Another object of the invention is to provide a module of the type described above which eliminates cold joints between a floor and an associated wall, and provides a continuous concrete connection between the wall and the floor, thereby increasing the overall structural rigidity of the resulting construction.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a module as described above which eliminates delay associated with separate pours of concrete, as well as the need for allowing each pour of concrete to cure, by filling the module and interconnection between the floor and wall with concrete in a single pour. As a corollary to the foregoing object, one feature of the invention is to increase the speed of building construction while improving coordination of each construction phase.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel wall module similar to that described above which reduces the amount of energy used to generate heat employed for curing the concrete while improving the effectiveness of the use of such heat during the curing process. According to another feature of the invention, the walls and floor produced during one construction phase may be erected to form an enclosure within which heat may be confined prior to introducing concrete into the walls.
These and further objects of the invention will be made clear or will become apparent during the course of the following description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.